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on Labor Markets - Supply, Demand, and Wages |
| By: | Andrea Albanese; Lorenzo Cappellari (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Marco Ovidi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | We study how worker-specific ability to generate earnings evolves over the life cycle. We measure the dynamics of earning ability by extending the canonical AKM model of wage determination to allow worker effects to vary as individuals age. Age-dependent estimates of earning ability unveil heterogeneous career trajectories, with high ability workers sorting into higher-paying employers early in their careers and moving to different firms to a lesser extent thereafter. We show that earning ability significantly decreases after job loss, suggesting that it is at least partly match-specific. This result is particularly pronounced for high-ability workers, who, conversely, are the ones experiencing the lowest penalties in employer pay after job loss. |
| Keywords: | Earning ability, AKM model, ageing. |
| JEL: | J31 J21 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie1:def148 |
| By: | Sam J. Manning; Tomás Aguirre |
| Abstract: | We construct an occupation-level adaptive capacity index that measures a set of worker characteristics relevant for navigating job transitions if displaced, covering 356 occupations that represent 95.9% of the U.S. workforce. We find that AI exposure and adaptive capacity are positively correlated: many occupations highly exposed to AI contain workers with relatively strong means to manage a job transition. Of the 37.1 million workers in the top quartile of AI exposure, 26.5 million are in occupations that also have above-median adaptive capacity, leaving them comparatively well-equipped to handle job transitions if displacement occurs. At the same time, 6.1 million workers (4.2% of the workforce in our sample) work in occupations that are both highly exposed and where workers have low expected adaptive capacity. These workers are concentrated in clerical and administrative roles. Importantly, AI exposure reflects potential changes to work tasks, not inevitable displacement; only some of the changes brought on by AI will result in job loss. By distinguishing between highly exposed workers with relatively strong means to adjust and those with limited adaptive capacity, our analysis shows that exposure measures alone can obscure both areas of resilience to technological change and concentrated pockets of elevated vulnerability if displacement were to occur. |
| JEL: | J01 J20 J21 J24 J29 J63 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34705 |
| By: | Elena Bassoli (ETH Zurich; Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Ylenia Brilli (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; CHILD-Collegio Carlo Alberto) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes how a reform increasing statutory retirement age from 60 to 64 affected women's incentives for early retirement. In Italy, women can anticipate retirement at 57 (with 35 contribution years), but subject to an annuity penalization. Using Italian administrative data, we compare women eligible for the early retirement scheme before and after the reform, finding a small effect on women's retirement age, but a substantial negative effect on annuity. Effects are stronger for women with low labor market attachment or working full-time, suggesting that reconciliation of paid and unpaid works is an important driver of early retirement choices. |
| Keywords: | statutory retirement; early retirement; women’s labor market attachment; social security wealth |
| JEL: | J16 J20 J22 J26 H55 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2025:30 |
| By: | Jarkko Harju (Tampere University & Finnish Centre of Tax Systems Research (FIT)); Toni Juuti (Labour Institute for Economic Research & Tampere University & FIT); Tuomas Matikka (VATT Institute for Economic Research & FIT) |
| Abstract: | Using full-population data from Finland, we show that individuals at the top of the income distribution are significantly more likely to start new incorporated businesses. High-income earners also establish more successful and productive businesses than others. In contrast, parental income is not linked with selection into new entrepreneurship or firm-level outcomes. We find that income gains from entrepreneurship are rather similar across individual and parental characteristics, and that entrepreneurship is associated with upward income mobility regardless of initial income levels. Overall, our findings suggest that entrepreneurship can serve as an upward economic ladder for individuals from diverse backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, income mobility, productivity |
| JEL: | L26 J24 J3 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fit:wpaper:41 |
| By: | Achyuta Adhvaryu; Martin Atela; Valentina Brailovskaya; Priyanka Dua; Jenny Susan John; Pratibha Joshi; Rivandra Royono |
| Abstract: | Using surveys and administrative data from representative samples of drivers working on three leading gig platforms in India, Indonesia, and Kenya, we document the composition, economic experiences, and labor market trajectories of platform workers. Combining platform-based earnings with operating cost data, we estimate earnings net of costs (in PPP-adjusted terms) in each context. We find that the flexible nature of platform work enables drivers to work substantially more than the full-time equivalent, generating higher monthly net earnings than low-skill or casual employment, despite comparable or lower hourly net earnings relative to these outside options. Drivers who exit platform work in India and Indonesia do so to take up better-paying full-time positions. In contrast, Kenyan drivers often exit involuntarily, returning to offline driving with adverse financial consequences. One-third of drivers across countries rely on platform work to supplement earnings during emergencies or slow work periods, suggesting that platform work may play an important role as a financial safety net. |
| JEL: | J22 J30 J46 O12 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34680 |
| By: | Seth Gordon Benzell; Kyle R. Myers |
| Abstract: | Many experiments study the productivity effects of automation technologies such as generative algorithms. A key test in these experiments relates to inequality: does the technology increase output more for high- or low-skill workers? However, the theoretical content of this empirical test has been unclear. Here, we formalize a theory that describes the experimental effect of automation technologies on worker-level output and, therefore, inequality. Worker-level output depends on a task-level production function, and workers are heterogeneous in their task-level skills. Workers perform a task themselves or delegate it to the automation technology. The inequality effect of improved automation depends on the interaction of two factors: (i) the correlation in task-level skills across workers, and (ii) workers' skills relative to the technology's effective skill. In many cases we study, the inequality effect is non-monotonic --- as technologies improve, inequality decreases then increases. The model and descriptive statistics of skill correlations generally suggest that the diversity of automation technologies will play an important role in the evolution of inequality. |
| JEL: | D20 D31 J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34668 |
| By: | Kroft, Kory; Norwich, Isaac; Notowidigdo, Matthew J.; Tino, Stephen |
| Abstract: | Many temporary foreign worker programs issue "closed" visas that effectively tie workers to a single employer, restricting worker mobility and weakening bargaining power. We study the labor market return to temporary foreign workers (TFWs) gaining permanent residency (PR), which loosens this mobility restriction. Using administrative data linking matched employer-employee data in Canada to temporary and permanent visa records from 2004-2014 along with an eventstudy design, we find that gaining PR leads to a sharp, immediate, and persistent increase in the job switching rate of 21.7 percentage points and an increase in earnings of 5.7 percent three years after PR. Workers also sort into high-wage firms after gaining PR, and the increase in the firm pay premium is roughly 56 percent of the total earnings gain. We find larger earnings gains for job switchers across industries, low-skilled workers, and workers from low-income countries. To guide and interpret our reduced-form results, we develop a search-and-matching model featuring heterogeneous workers and firms. Permanent residents and native-born workers search for jobs in the same labor market and engage in on-the-job search, while TFWs search separately within a segmented labor market and do not receive outside wage offers. We calibrate the model to match our reduced-form results, and we use it to simulate the long-run effects of PR and consider two counterfactual policies: (1) increasing the cost to firms of posting a TFW vacancy and (2) allowing TFWs to switch employers freely under "open" visas. We evaluate how these policies affect output, wages, profits, and overall social welfare. |
| JEL: | J61 J31 J64 J42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:clefwp:335026 |
| By: | Morien El Haj; Eline Moens; Elsy Verhofstadt; Luc Van Ootegem; Stijn Baert (-) |
| Abstract: | In tight labour markets, where employers compete not only on wages but also on amenities such as job family friendliness, employer-provided childcare arrangements serve as a powerful tool to attract and retain working parents. Yet little causal evidence exists on how employees evaluate such benefits. Therefore, this study uses a scenario experiment among working parents of young children to examine how job attractiveness is shaped by variations in employer-provided childcare arrangements – in terms of location, opening hours, and price – along with the possibility of teleworking. Our results show that all forms of employer-provided childcare increase job attractiveness, with childcare facilities operating on schedules explicitly aligned with employees’ working hours having the strongest effects. Working parents are willing to forego a 20% wage increase in a new job to obtain this latter amenity. They expect such amenity to improve their job satisfaction, performance, stress management, and work–family balance. Our results imply that the policy offers mutual gains for both employees and employers. |
| Keywords: | Childcare, Telework, Job attractiveness, Willingness to pay, Factorial survey experiment |
| JEL: | C91 J13 J16 J24 J81 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:26/1132 |
| By: | Annie Liu; Pinghui Wu |
| Abstract: | Per capita personal income in New England grew from $10, 731 to $87, 655 during the 1980–2024 period. This increase, the largest among all US census divisions, coincided with significant growth in educational attainment in the region. As of 2024, 53 percent of New England workers aged 25 to 64 held at least a bachelor’s degree, and 23 percent possessed advanced degrees, compared with national averages of 44 percent and 17 percent, respectively. This study provides new insights into the relationship between educational attainment and income growth in New England, examining both individual earnings and broader regional trajectories. |
| Keywords: | New England; wage growth; educational attainment; career progression |
| JEL: | I21 I26 J31 R10 |
| Date: | 2026–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbcr:102345 |
| By: | John A. List |
| Abstract: | Many ideas show remarkable returns in small-scale trials but often disappoint when scaled to broader populations and contexts. Using early childhood investment as a case study, this study develops a dynamic human capital formation model that integrates complementary skill investment with “Option C thinking” on scaling challenges. The model is stylized in the Chicago tradition: micro-founded with optimizing agents, dynamic skill production, and a policymaker evaluating scaling decisions. It formalizes how naive extrapolation from pilot studies systematically overestimates policy efficacy by ignoring “voltage drops, ” declining treatment effects due to unrepresentativeness at scale. The model demonstrates that optimal scaling policy requires mechanism-based design that anticipates these failures through backward induction from implementation realities. The scientific insights from a set of recent studies provide valuable perspectives on the model. |
| JEL: | C9 C91 C93 H10 H4 H41 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34674 |
| By: | Eichfelder, Sebastian; Nguyen, Hang T. T. |
| Abstract: | This study examines the interplay between corporate tax avoidance and the incidence of the corporate income tax falling on wages and employment. Using the German Business Tax Reform 2008 (GBTR 2008) as a natural experiment, we investigate how a large tax cut of about nine percentage points affected wages and the number of employees of low-avoidance firms compared with high-avoidance firms. We expect an abnormal wage response of low-avoidance firms that are more burdened by corporate taxation and benefitted more from the tax cut. In difference-in-differences and triple-difference regressions, we do not find significant evidence for an abnormal wage response of low-avoidance firms. A potential explanation might be strong labour protection regulations in Germany that might limit the ability of German firms to shift corporate taxes on labour. We find some but not very robust evidence for an abnormal increase in employment of low-avoidance firms after the GBTR 2008. Our findings align with recent evidence that German employees bear only a small fraction of German corporate taxation and that this burden primarily falls on employees of very small firms that are only poorly represented in our Amadeus data. |
| Keywords: | Tax Incidence, Corporate Income Tax, Tax Avoidance, Employment Effects, Wage Effects |
| JEL: | E24 H22 H25 J30 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:arqudp:335021 |
| By: | Rainer Michael Rilke (WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management); Dirk Sliwka (University of Cologne) |
| Abstract: | A large body of research across management, psychology, accounting, and economics shows that subjective performance evaluations are systematically biased: ratings cluster near the midpoint of scales and are often excessively lenient. As organizations increasingly adopt large language models (LLMs) for evaluative tasks, little is known about how these systems perform when assessing human performance. We document that, in the absence of clear objective standards and when individuals are rated independently, LLMs reproduce the familiar patterns of human raters. However, LLMs generate greater dispersion and accuracy when evaluating multiple individuals simultaneously. With noisy but objective performance signals, LLMs provide substantially more accurate evaluations than human raters, as they (i) are less subject to biases arising from concern for the evaluated employee and (ii) make fewer mistakes in information processing closely approximating rational Bayesian benchmarks. |
| Keywords: | Performance Evaluation, Large Language Models, Signal Objectivity, Algorithmic Judgment, Gen-AI |
| JEL: | J24 J28 M12 M53 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:384 |
| By: | Elton Beqiraj; Stefano Di Bucchianico; Mario Di Serio; Michele Raitano |
| Abstract: | We use high-frequency Italian administrative data on private-sector employees to examine the impact of monetary policy shocks on wage inequality from 1999 to 2018. We estimate the impulse responses of various wage distribution indicators to exogenous monetary policy shocks, focusing on mean wages, key percentiles, and the Gini index, and distinguishing impacts on monthly gross earnings and full-time equivalent daily wages (our best proxy for unitary wages). Our findings reveal that expan-sionary monetary policy shocks significantly increase mean wages and reduce wage inequality, in addition to their positive effects on employment and economic activity. These distributional gains mainly accrue to workers in the medium-low segments of the wage distribution. Comparing monthly and unitary wages reveals markedly different responses, indicating that the intensive margin plays a crucial role. Two additional findings emerge when distinguishing workers' subgroups. First, workers employed in small and medium-sized firms benefit comparatively more from expansionary monetary shocks, pointing to a more substantial easing of firms' financial constraints. Second, the wage gap between blue-collar and white-collar workers narrows. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy shocks; Wage inequality; Employment levels; Administrative data; Labour market; Italy |
| JEL: | D63 E50 E52 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:wp270 |
| By: | Holtmann, Svea; Braun, Anna-Sophie; Cho, Jae; Koch, Reinald; Langenmayr, Dominika |
| Abstract: | We study a 2018 reform in South Korea that reduced tax credits for automation investments. This reform increased the tax cost of investing in robots and thus resembles a robot tax. Exploiting this natural experiment with industry-level data on robot installations and firm-level data from Orbis, we document a sharp decline in automation investments after the reform in industries with a large share of affected firms. At the firm level, we find that affected firms increased employment, consistent with the notion that robots replaced workers. The effects are heterogeneous: financially constrained firms cut investment overall, while unconstrained firms substituted away from robots, hired more workers, and reallocated resources toward more productive uses. For the latter group, we find improvements in various measures of investment quality, suggesting that the tax credit induced inefficient overinvestment in automation. Our evidence informs ongoing debates on robot taxation and the efficiency of tax incentives. |
| Keywords: | tax credits, automation, robot tax |
| JEL: | H25 H32 O33 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:arqudp:335022 |
| By: | Bhalotra. Sonia (Department of Economics, University of Warwick, CAGE, IFS, CEPR, RFBerlin, IZA, CESifo); Clarke, Damian (Department of Economics, Universidad de Chile, University of Exeter, and IZA); Venkataramani, Atheendar (Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania and NBER) |
| Abstract: | We leverage the introduction of the first antibiotic therapies in 1937 to examine the long run effects of early childhood pneumonia on adult educational attainment, employment, income, and work-related disability. Using census data, we document large average gains on all outcomes, alongside substantial heterogeneity by race and gender. On average, Black men exhibit smaller schooling gains than white men but larger employment and earnings gains. Among Black men (and women), we identify a pronounced gradient in gains linked to systemic racial discrimination in the pre–Civil Rights era: individuals born in more discriminatory Jim Crow states realized much smaller gains than those born in less discriminatory states. There is no similar gradient among white Americans. Women of both races exhibit smaller education and earnings gains than men on average, consistent with cultural and institutional barriers to women’s work. Our findings highlight the role of opportunities in shaping the extent to which investments in early-life health translate into longer run economic gains. |
| Keywords: | early childhood ; medical innovation ; race; human capital production ; education ; income ; disability ; systemic discrimination ; institutions ; infectious disease ; pneumonia ; antibiotics ; sulfa drugs JEL codes: I10 ; I14 ; J71 ; H70 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1594 |
| By: | Giacomo Anastasia; Tito Boeri; Oleksandr Zholud |
| Abstract: | Wars disrupt labor markets, yet systematic evidence on how markets for labor services operate during conflicts is almost entirely absent. Ukraine is a rare exception: despite the full-scale Russian invasion, timely data on workers and vacancies, in both stocks and flows, remain available. We use these data to document one of the largest labor supply and reallocation shocks in recent history and to estimate the impact on job matching, showing how labor markets adapt under extreme stress. The labor force shrank by about one fourth, yet vacancy filling rates and matching efficiency declined modestly. Only along the frontline and in occupied regions there is evidence of labor market shutdowns. Wage flexibility, adaptability of recruitment policies of firms, and remote working help explain the resiliency of labor outcomes. Recovering longer-term human capital losses suffered by Ukraine will require a mix of tools going well beyond labor policies and should be a priority for the reconstruction phase. |
| Keywords: | labor supply shock, reallocation, vacancy filling rate, wartime economy, wartime labor market, Russian invasion, Ukraine |
| Date: | 2026–01–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2142 |
| By: | Aimee Chin; Kalena Cortes; Camila Morales |
| Abstract: | U.S. laws make it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented migrants. This legal constraint affects which firms will employ unauthorized workers and what jobs undocumented migrants can expect to get. As a result, unauthorized migrants are more likely to end up in jobs that have a lower risk of detection of immigration status and are less desirable. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which began in August 2012, gave temporary legal authorization to work in the U.S. to a subset of undocumented migrants – those who arrived in the U.S. as children meeting certain other eligibility criteria. In this paper, we use a difference-in-differences strategy to estimate the effect of DACA on the occupational outcomes of young adults who arrived in the U.S. as children. Applying this strategy to individual-level data from the American Community Survey, we find that DACA eligibility decreases the likelihood that noncitizen childhood immigrants hold traditional immigrant jobs or jobs with a high risk of injury, and increases the likelihood of holding a government job or jobs that require occupational licensing. On the whole, DACA eligibility shifts noncitizen childhood immigrants to occupations that are higher-paying and employ more educated workers. These findings are consistent with legal barriers constraining undocumented childhood migrants from taking the jobs they are interested in and have the skills for. These workers are shunted to jobs they find less desirable and there are societal losses from the misallocation of talent. |
| JEL: | J08 J18 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34685 |
| By: | Yolanda F. Rebollo-Sanz (Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Núria Rodríguez-Planas (City University of New York (CUNY), Queens College; Institut d’Economia de Barcelona (IEB); Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of a 22% minimum wage increase in Spain on January 2019 on intimate partner violence using a doubly robust difference-in-differences strategy with inverse probability weighting and the nationally representative Survey of Violence Against Women. We find no effect of the reform on physical or sexual violence. Furthermore, treated women—those with a high predicted probability of working at minimum-wage jobs—experienced a 42% increase in psychological violence. Labor-market analysis of survey respondents reveals that the reform led to a substitution away from female employment towards her partner’s employment, reducing women’s bargaining power within the household. For women whose partner is five years older, the increase in violence is not accompanied with lower female labor-market engagement, providing evidence of alternative mechanisms, such as disrupted gender roles, or instrumental violence. These findings highlight unintended consequences of wage policy and highlight the need for complementary policies and services addressing the dangers of gender-based and domestic violence. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wage increase, doubly robust difference-in-differences with inverse probability weighting self-reported psychological, physical, and/or sexual abuse by partner |
| JEL: | J31 J16 J12 J38 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:25.09 |
| By: | Louise Devos; Kristen du Bois; Stijn Baert; Louis Lippens (-) |
| Abstract: | Hiring discrimination against candidates from ethnocultural minority groups is a persistent concern in contemporary labour markets. This study examines how professional recruiters evaluate fictitious job applicants with profiles that systematically vary in signals that form ethnocultural identity rather than isolated minority markers. Using a preregistered factorial survey experiment true to recruiters’ organisational context, we assess how greater perceived distance from the ethnocultural majority is associated with hiring intentions. Structural equation modelling shows that lower perceived ethnocultural alignment is strongly and negatively associated with the likelihood of a candidate being considered for a job interview. This bias is also reflected in the extent to which recruiters identify with a candidate, as well as in taste-based expectations and competence assessments related to communication, efficiency, and leadership. Methodologically, we reinforce the credibility of the experimental findings by explicitly addressing socially desirable responses using three complementary approaches. First, we used a validated scale that captures socially desirable response tendencies, excluding respondents with a strong tendency to such responding. Second, we implemented the nominative technique, reducing the normative pressure to report personal views. Third, we employed the Bayesian truth serum, weighting responses based on their informativeness and honesty. Across all specifications, perceived alignment with the ethnocultural majority emerges as a robust and consistent correlate of hiring intentions. |
| Keywords: | factorial survey experiment, social desirability, identity, hiring, discrimination |
| JEL: | C83 J61 J71 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:26/1131 |
| By: | David Loschiavo; Olivier Armantier; Antonio Dalla Zuanna; Leonardo Gambacorta; Mirko Moscatelli; Ilaria Supino |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the household adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in the United States and Italy, leveraging survey data to compare usage patterns, demographic influences, and employment sectoral composition effects. Our findings reveal higher adoption rates in the US, driven by socio-demographic differences between the two countries. Despite their lower usage of GenAI, Italians are more confident in its potential to improve their well-being and financial situation. Both Italian and US users tend to trust GenAI tools less than human-operated services, but Italians report greater relative trust in government and institutions when handling personal data with GenAI tools. |
| Keywords: | generative artificial intelligence, technology adoption, cross-country comparison, socio-demographic factors, trust in technology, cultural attitudes |
| JEL: | O33 D10 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1322 |
| By: | Feng, Shuaizhang; Gan, Yu; Han, Yujie; Kautz, Tim |
| Abstract: | China's One-Child Policy (OCP) restricted most couples to a single birth, leading to a rapid increase in the prevalence of only children. Using longitudinal data and a regression discontinuity design around the policy's start, we estimate the effects on grandchildren's human capital. We find that children with only-child mothers perform significantly better in cognitive skills (0.71 SD) and noncognitive skills (0.50 SD) than comparable peers. The effects are larger for boys, consistent with son preference, and for those with less-educated grandparents, for whom quantity-quality trade-offs are more applicable. Additionally, we find that only-child parents have higher educational attainment and provide more favorable home environments, which may explain their children's advantages in human capital outcomes. These findings suggest that, in the presence of quantity-quality trade-offs, fertility restrictions can improve human capital across multiple generations. |
| Keywords: | One-Child Policy, Child development, Cognitive and noncognitive skills, Intergenerational transmission |
| JEL: | J13 J24 I2 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1706 |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews recent developments in the economics of human development, focusing on the early years of life as a critical period for shaping long-term outcomes. Early childhood development is inherently multidimensional: cognitive and socioemotional skills evolve dynamically and interact with health, nutrition, and environmental influences. Economists have contributed to this field by providing a conceptual unifying framework that highlights how key drivers of development reflect the choices of individuals operating under incentives and constraints. Within this framework, the paper emphasizes two central challenges: understanding the interactions among multiple dimensions of development and identifying causal links - particularly the effects of different inputs at different ages. Measurement issues are a recurring theme, given the difficulty of assessing young children and the need for comparability across contexts. The paper also stresses these issues’ policy relevance for poverty reduction and social mobility by discussing early childhood interventions in both developed and developing countries. |
| JEL: | D1 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34651 |
| By: | Gabriella Conti (University College London, CEPR, CESIFO, HCEO, and IZA.); Rita Ginja (University of Bergen); Petra Person (Stanford University, NBER, and Research Institute of Industrial Economics); Barton Willage (University of Delaware, Department of Economics and NBER) |
| Abstract: | The motherhood penalty is well-documented, but what happens at the other end of the reproductive spectrum? Menopause Ñ a transition often marked by debilitating physical and psychological symptoms Ñ also entails substantial costs. Using population-wide Norwegian and Swedish data and quasi-experimental methods, we show that a menopause diagnosis leads to lasting drops in earnings and employment, alongside greater reliance on social transfers. Increasing access to menopause-related health care can help offset these losses. Our findings reveal the hidden economic toll of menopause and the potential gains from better support policies. |
| Keywords: | Menopause, Menopausal Hormone Therapy, Norway, Sweden, quasi-experimental variation, social transfers, low socioeconomic status. |
| JEL: | H72 I00 I30 J21 |
| Date: | 2026–01–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:770 |
| By: | Vanessa B. Schmidt |
| Abstract: | I study the role of home production in determining the labor income channel through which monetary policy affects consumption inequality. To this end, I develop a Two-Agent New Keynesian model with home production. In the context of my model, hand-to-mouth households experience a sharper decline in labor income compared to richer households in response to a contractionary monetary policy shock. However, they increase home production to a greater extent than richer households do. The resulting labor income channel is therefore one third the size when accounting for home production. In line with my theoretical results, I show empirically that individuals living hand-to-mouth respond to contractionary monetary policy shocks by increasing home production by more than richer people do. |
| Keywords: | constrained households, consumption inequality, home production, monetary policy, TANK models |
| JEL: | E21 E52 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–11–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0082 |